After cutting Dalvin Cook, the Minnesota Vikings entered training camp with a hole behind Alexander Mattison, who they have signaled is the clear starter by keeping him out of the team’s first two preseason games. Kene Nwangwu, Ty Chandler, and rookie DeWayne McBride were the three main competitors for this job.
With Nwangwu out due to injury, Chandler has taken that opportunity and seized the RB2 job. Chandler has gained 65 yards on 22 rushing attempts, adding 29 yards through the air on four receptions. Those aren’t impressive numbers from an efficiency perspective, but they should be adjusted by the performance of Minnesota’s OL, which has been very poor at run blocking in both games. Overall, Chandler’s three yards per carry average is right in line with the average for Vikings’ RBs this preseason.
Where Chandler has set himself apart from competitors McBride and Abram Smith is on tape. Chandler has looked more explosive, processed plays well, and consistently fallen forward.
Let’s go to the tape to see what Chandler has done well:
Burst
Chandler’s speed (4.38 second 40-yard dash) and acceleration (1.48 second 10-yard split) were evident in his college film and in pre-draft testing. That offers a change from projected starter Mattison and McBride. However, Nwangwu also has elite speed.
This burst is evident on the Chandler’s tape. A great example is speed to the corner on outside runs, which Chandler shows on the play below. He has to beat an unblocked linebacker, No. 59 Jon Rhattigan, to the corner. Before the snap, you can see that Rhattigan is aligned between the left tackle and left guard, so he has a couple of yards head start on a run to the left. Chandler’s explosiveness allows him to win the corner against him. It even allows him to get outside the cornerback for a couple of extra yards to end up with a nine-yard gain.
You can also see Chandler’s vertical speed in the play below, where he defeats angles from two defenders. Defensive tackle No. 95 Myles Adams comes unblocked, and No. 22 Tre Brown comes in trying to work through a block to get angles on Chandler. But Ty’s acceleration allows him to get past both players and run through a blocked LB’s arm tackle. Brown jumps on Chandler’s back, but that allow him to fall forward rather than getting stopped in his tracks.
Unfortunately, McBride lacks Chandler’s burst. The play below is quite similar to Chandler’s first run, and you can see Tennessee Titans’ LB No. 45 Chance Campbell start with a couple of yard disadvantage because the run is to the right. Campbell still catches up to McBride enough to get a wrap attempt, while Chandler was untouched by an LB that had a shorter path to him.
To McBride’s credit, he breaks through the initial wrap attempt, but the difference in burst is clear:
Patience
Chandler has done a good job of finding holes and manipulating small creases this preseason. To me, this is where Chandler separates himself from Nwangwu, who has the same explosiveness but has never shown a nuanced feel for the running back position. Below are a few examples that show that skill.
On this play, Chandler is reading the middle linebacker, No. 50 Jack Gibbens, and has to trust that a clogged lane will open up. Gibbens goes left, so Chandler starts to the right, and it pays off. Nick Muse, Ben Sims, and Jalen Reagor combine to create a hole that Chandler gets through to gain about five yards. Additionally, Chandler does a good job leaping forward as he’s taken out at the legs to maximize yardage.
On this next play, Gibbens beats Blake Brandel‘s second-level block to the spot, which forces Chandler to cut back. Campbell is trying to cross back to where Chandler cuts to make the tackle, but Chandler has the nifty movement to get back on his original path after colliding with Oli Udoh‘s block.
This quick footwork allows him to create a hole from nothing and gain about five yards:
Finally, we have Chandler presented with a difficult scenario as a back. Josh Oliver has been beaten inside, and that forces Chandler right, where the nose tackle has established good leverage against Austin Schlottmann. Chandler makes the smart decision to go downhill, but he impressively slips between Schlottmann and the man his is blocking by getting low and falling forward.
This play got called back due to Oliver’s holding, but it’s a nifty improvisation from Chandler:
One final thing I like about Chandler is that he avoids making risky moves that could lead to additional lost yardage. The below play is Power, and it’s not blocked well. The Vikings get no push at the point of attack. Some RBs might be tempted to try to jump outside, but in this scenario No. 8 on the Seahawks would easily be able to make a TFL. Instead, Chandler sticks his nose in there, churns his legs, and makes the best of a poorly blocked play:
Contact Balance
Chandler is known for his speed, but he has also shown some pretty good balance with his 5’11”, 204 lb. frame. That’s a little lighter than you would hope for from a feature back, but it’s not small enough that the Vikings will need relegate him to just a role player in his career.
Good contact balance showed up in multiple instances, including this play below against the Seahawks. He is facing off with a defensive back in space, and gets great pad level to run his opponent over. He then shows good technique in rising up and driving his legs forward, enabling him to fall forward while Rattigan wraps him up:
On this next play, we get to see Chandler once again handle backfield penetration well, outrunning the DT. He’s then able to sustain a direct wrap attempt from Campbell, spinning out of it, lower his pads into contact, and keep his legs moving forward to maximize yardage:
Pass protection
Pass protection isn’t often talked about with regards to RBs because it doesn’t score fantasy points, but it’s a critical component that a team considers when they determine their personnel on passing downs.
In both games, Chandler has done a good job processing blitzes and protecting the quarterback. On the play below, the Vikings face a common Double A Gap mug. Against this defense, the C is typically responsible for one of the two A gap threats while the RB is responsible for the other. Schlottmann opens to his left, and that LB drops out. However, the LB on the right complicates things by stunting with the 3T to his side.
Chandler processes this well and executes a nice block that forces the LB up the arc, opening space for Nick Mullens to scramble through the created hole:
Chandler consistently showed the ability to scan to the correct locations and find blitzers. On the video below, he starts to the right of the QB, the the protection is a half slide right. That means that Chandler is responsible for any additional pressure to the left. He crosses over and squares up the opposing LB, giving Mullens enough time to get off an accurate throw:
Chandler also showed ability to look for work and chip help in combination with teammates. On the play below where the Vikings move the pocket to the left, Chandler sees the OL has it blocked well, and turns to see Johnny Mundt losing his block. He goes over to help, and delivers a nice hit to slow the momentum of the rusher.
Chandler can improve as a pass protector on cut blocks. He was unable to properly hit his target in a couple of attempts. On this first one below, he gets too far outside, and the rusher is able to stay upright:
Against the Titans, Chandler wasn’t able to get wide enough and completely whiffed on this attempt:
receiving
As a receiver, Chandler didn’t necessarily show anything unique in terms of route running. However, he’s shown soft hands to catch all five passes that have come his way (one was called back due to penalty) and a feel for making the first defender miss.
On the first play below, Chandler catches a dump-off in the flat with a defender approaching. He does a nice job of catching a ball that is slightly outside his frame, and steps back while he is catching it to set the defender up to miss the tackle. He slips through and turns the broken tackle into positive yardage:
The next play shows Chandler as a checkdown out of the backfield, and he catches the ball with his back turned. He showcases an innate feel for where the defender will be, and turns to make the first LB miss before getting upfield and converting a first down:
Room for improvement
Chandler certainly has some room for improvement with his game. The main thing I would like to see him improve is his processing speed and ability to identify cutback opportunities.
On this play, Chandler is running outside zone again, this time with a handoff. His primary read is going to be the tackle, Oli Udoh, against the play side defensive end. When Chandler gets the ball, that DE is clearly outside of Udoh, indicating a cutback opportunity. The DE tries to duck inside, and that causes Chandler to try to bounce the run. However, Chandler needs to realize that Udoh has great position to prevent the DE from crossing his face. Indeed, when Chandler cuts outside, it’s directly into the DE who stayed outside of Udoh.
If Chandler had read cutback, there was a wide lane between Vederian Lowe and Nick Muse where he would have had a one-on-one with a safety:
This play is a little more difficult for Chandler, but I’d like him to cut it back as well. The DE here goes backdoor on Udoh, which you typically hope that Chandler can get past. However, the defender is into the backfield so quickly that he ends up directly in Chandler’s path. Chandler doesn’t recognize this and start trying to cut back until his fourth step because he is concentrating on catching the pitch. Ideally, he would recognize this by his third step and be able to cut the ball upfield.
As it is, he nearly gets by the DE, but the backside pursuit gets him. A slight improvement could have led to a bigger gain:
Conclusion
Ty Chandler has impressed with his burst, his patience to hit holes, his contact balance, and his pass protection in the first two games of the Vikings’ preseason. In my estimation, he’s done more than enough to earn the RB2 job over Kene Nwangwu and DeWayne McBride.
Want to see Chandler’s game for yourself? Below I’ve compiled all of Chandler’s touches from the Seahawks and Titans preseason games:
